Government to see plans for taskforce to rejuvenate Cork City in early January

The living city initiative is focused on the regeneration of retail and commercial districts in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Waterford. Picture: David Creedon

Plans for a new taskforce for Cork City will be brought to the Government in the early weeks of next year, according to the Taoiseach.

The taskforce was included in the programme for government, and it was expected to be in place by the end of this year.

However, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said it is now envisaged that a memo will be brought to the Cabinet by the end of January in relation to the creation of the taskforce.

It is expected that the initiative will be similar to a taskforce set up in Dublin in May 2024. It will incorporate stakeholders from across different sectors in the city.

Mr Martin told the Irish Examiner that his officials have been meeting with Cork City Council, adding: “I hope to bring a memo to Government in the new year establishing the group — call it a taskforce, call it whatever — to focus on the development of the city into the future. 

"We now have a good foundation with the docklands and all that, but also we now have the living city initiative being greatly expanded in the budget.” 

The living city initiative is focused on the regeneration of retail and commercial districts in Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Waterford. 

Tax relief will be offered for qualifying expenditure incurred on the refurbishment or conversion of certain buildings where conditions are met. The scheme was extended to 2030 recently.

The Cork focus is on areas such as North Main St, with a key driver being providing living spaces over shops and businesses.

Mr Martin said that would be a good resource to the taskforce.

In July, he said that the taskforce must “must entice people to live in the city centre”.

The programme for government outlined that the taskforce model in Dublin will be applied to “other cities, towns, and regions in need of revitalisation, starting with a taskforce for Cork City which will launch shortly”.

Election pledge

In June, Tánaiste Simon Harris pledged to establish the taskforce following an election promise by Fine Gael that the party would seek its creation within 100 days of the Government being established. 

The aim of the taskforce is to rejuvenate the city centre and drive major infrastructure projects through the co-ordination of sectors such as national and local government, businesses, and civic and cultural organisations.

The Taoiseach said there has been much progress in Cork this year, adding that he was very happy to see the “delivery down in the docklands in terms of construction of apartment blocks, the wonderful amenity that is being developed in the Marina/Atlantic Pond". 

"That is creating a wonderful quarter there," he said.

He listed investments such as the N28 development to Ringaskiddy, progression of the Cork-Limerick motorway and the Grand Parade projects, as well as the investments in the Crawford Art Gallery, Munster Technological University, and UCC. 

“I see this as a university city. The city council had been doing work with UCC and others in terms of reimagining the city centre — in particular the core of the city," he said.

"They were not enamoured with the title taskforce. They want to create a new group and create a context for that group and a framework for it.” 

He added: “We didn’t want to duplicate the work that the city council was doing. I think we will have a good model to bring to the Government in the new year.”